Conflict in Teams

Conflicts in TeamsWorking in teams is growing throughout both the professional and academic environments. The definition of a team is a group that has the same commitments and goals (What is a Team, 2001). Teams are used in the academic environment for many reasons. Teams in the academic setting helps students learn the information better. For some students, information that they have trouble grasping, may help to hear it from a peer who can put it into a different perspective. Another main reason an academic settings uses teams is to get students used to working with others to produce a product. Many organizations use teams to produce a product or wanted outcome. Starting teams during education helps students prepare for this. Teams are used in the professional setting for several reasons as well. One reason teams are used in professional atmosphere is to produce a product. Another reason teams are used in the workplace is to make the proper decisions for the company as a whole. When working in teams conflicts can arise, in fact it is inevitable. According to De Janasz, Dowd, and Schneider (2001) Conflict is any situation in which there are incompatible goals, cognitions, or emotions within or between individuals or groups that lead to opposition or antagonistic interaction. It is the struggle between incompatible and opposing needs, wishes, ideas, interests or people. (p.242) Conflict is inevitable, learning how to cope, solve, and even avoid the conflict as well as how conflict can help a team, is crucial information to know in order to continue the team. Why Conflicts Arise

Conflicts arise in almost every team situation. There can be many reasons why conflict may arise within a team. Conflict happens when two or more people from a team, has opposing ideas or feelings, which may cause them to “butt heads.” A reason conflict might arise in a team because the team members may make assumptions, these assumptions at times may be wrong and unfounded, leading to disagreements and conflict between team members (Poter, 2003). Another reason conflict may arise is because of miscommunication or a misunderstanding. Unclear or even an abrasive tone may cause conflict as well. If a team member has a harsh tone when explaining something to other team members, even if this person does not think their tone is harsh, it may cause conflict. Lastly, conflict may arise due to just a difference in opinions on how things in the team should be handled. There are many reasons why conflict may arise within a team. Miscommunications, unclear tones wrong assumptions and just difference of opinions cause conflicts that can be avoided with the right information and resources. Avoiding Conflict

If the right steps are taken, some conflicts can be avoided. People working in teams need to take several steps and techniques to ensure there are as few conflicts as possible. A main way to avoid conflict is with communication. Communication can make or break a team. Team members have to be aware of both verbal and non-verbal communication. When communicating it may be best to use “I” language (De Janasz, Dowd, & Schneider, 2001). This is taking responsibility when communicating. Using this language will help other team members avoid getting upset. When people use language using the words “you”, it tends to make the other teammates feel that all the responsibility and even blame is on them. Another technique to use to avoid conflict is to remember that not everyone will agree, when this arises take the others ideas into consideration, and then with good tone explain other ideas and how they will help the team (De Janasz, Dowd, & Schneider, 2001). Lastly, the technique of agreeing to disagree can be helpful. Conflicts can never always be avoided. When a conflict does arise, you must first analyze and understand the conflict. Understanding Conflict

When a conflict arises before it can be resolved or even managed, we first have to understand it...

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Managing Conflict
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onflicts of various types are a natural part of the team process.
Although we often view conflict as negative, there are benefits to conflict if it is managed appropriately. People handle conflict in their teams in
a variety of ways, depending on the importance of their desire to maintain
good social relations and develop high-quality solutions.
Teams can use a variety of approaches for managing conflicts. Developing
a healthy solution to a conflict requires open communication, respect for
the other side, and a creative search for mutually satisfying alternatives.
Learning Objectives
1. Why is the lack of conflict a sign of a problem in a team?
2. What are the healthy and unhealthy sources of conflict?
3. When is conflict good for a team? When is it bad for a team?
4. How does the impact of conflict vary depending on the type of
team?
5. What are the different approaches to conflict resolution?
6. Which approach to conflict resolution is best? Why?
7. What can teams do to prepare for conflicts?
8. How can a mediator help facilitate management of a teamconflict?
9. What should a team do to create an integrative...

...Conflict Among Teams
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GEN 300
Diane Ellison
October 9, 2006
Conflict Among Teams
Differences of opinion exist in every organization and in every work group. Among the many factors which influence differences of opinion are the personal philosophy and values, differing strategies, and varying sources of information. A variety of opinions are beneficial to a team, causing team members to think about new and different ideas or to change old patterns into new ones. Differences of opinion do not cause conflicts. Misunderstanding does. Misunderstanding usually arises from miscommunication, by keeping hostilities "inside," misinterpreting what someone said, not acknowledging another's right to a different opinion, or by someone saying something they did not really mean. Managing teamconflicts does not mean to eliminate misunderstandings altogether, but to help team members control stress, improve communication, and apply sensible solutions to conflict.
Though a diversity of personalities is essential to high-performance teamwork, and no matter how well a team is doing, there may be team members displaying disruptive behaviors. Any behavior that shifts the team's focus, besides inhibiting the team's growth, can provoke conflict. Herbelin (2000)...

...This paper on Conflict resolution and Team Dynamics will include information about Communication, Responsibility, and Conflict. Understanding team dynamics is important to working successfully with others. The dynamics of a team are the forces that produce activity and change of the team as well as the forces and motions that characterize the team. As every team is comprised of different people the dynamics of each team will be unique. In today's online education systems we must understand the real execution of team effort and how to achieve quality work and top performance as a group.
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on the others to a certain extent. Different qualities will be brought to the...

...The closer individuals become to one another, the more conflict arises to pull them apart.
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C. Explains why, as relationships develop, communication moves from less intimate levels to more intimate, more personal levels
D. Explains why people tend to remain silent when they think their views are in the minority
E. Explains how organizations make sense of the information that is essential for their existence
F. Explains some of the reasons for changes to speech as individuals attempt to emphasize or minimize the social differences between themselves and their interlocutors
G. Explains that people are essentially storytellers who make decisions on the basis of good reasons. History, biography, culture, and character determine what people consider good reasons.
H. Explains the process that people use to manage the relationship between concealing and revealing private information
I. Explains meanings for routine organizational events, thereby reducing the amount of cognitive processing and energy members need to expend throughout the day
J. Explains that mass media has a major influence on audiences by choosing what stories are newsworthy and how much prominence and space to give them
K. Explains how different cultures manage conflict and communication. The theory explains that the root of conflict is based...

...Team Dynamics and Conflict Resolution in Work Teams
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Team dynamics are very complex. One could define the term team dynamics as requiring individuals to motivate each other to achieve a common goal. Most of the time, without success, teams start projects without having a shared vision or goal in mind. That is what makes team dynamics so important. Team dynamics help individuals stay on task and motivate each other. They help build trust, loyalty, and communication.
Teams are made up of individuals with different backgrounds, thinking styles, talents, personality traits, learning styles, academic experiences, ethics, and behaviors who have to interact with each other on various assignments and projects.
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...Conflict will always exist when a group or team is composed with different people with different approaches and ideas with dealing with situations. Learning to work together with dealing with conflict can and will provide your group or team with a quick resolution. Conflict can not be avoided and is inevitable in letting a team develop and provide a constructive and possibly beneficial outcome in managing the conflict.
When we generally think of conflict it is a very negative thought about the team member. Usually there is arguing, yelling or disagreeing which can make others feel uncomfortable. Learning how to deal and handle these disagreements constructively will usually improve the productivity and create new ideas and help develop personality of other in the team. Each team will go through stages of growth and development. “Teamconflict can be resolved quickly and effectively and only requires one key ingredient and that is a team leader who can diagnose a team within stages of team development and choose from an array of effective team leadership skills.” (Warren, Jon) Letting the team members get to know each other in forming better a workable group with the support and direction of the leader.
There are many...

...Introduction
It is an open fact that the ability to communicate and effectively resolve conflict among various ethnic employees within an organization is a reality that management faces today. It is crucial for managers to learn how to address concerns voiced by individuals of a different background. This ensures that the organization will run smoothly and the employees' will be satisfied and confident that they are valued by the company.
However, it is important to learn how to solve conflict related to these particular incidents. As the workplace expands to represent a wide range of ethnically diverse individuals, organizational leaders must learn to effectively resolve conflict related to specific cultural differences.
With the globalization of the labor force, businesses are working with more culturally diverse employees and co-workers than ever before, which is a great experience and at the same time a challenge. Teams that are ethnically diverse have advantages over demographic homogeneous teams by adding new perspectives and inputs. This diversity can also cause conflict within the team; however this is not a problem as long as it is constructively handled. If the problems are not constructively handled then economic and employee dissatisfaction can arise, two of the main reasons why management must learn to gain conflict resolution skills.
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Team Development and Conflict Management
Introduction
“Conflict is an integral part of the life of teams. It is inevitable because teams are made up of people and no two people are alike. When people come together, they bring with them different ways of seeing things. When these differences show up, people can feel threatened, and conflict emerges.” CITATION Fla08 \l 1033 (Flanagan, 2008).Conflict management is part of every day management practice in an organization and is required to survive in the competitive environment. Conflict may arise among employees, team members, between the employer and employee and occur if the sides do not agree. However, conflicts can be minimized or predicted if the early indicators are recognized. On the other side, some of the conflicts may be identified as positive and encourage employee to raise the sales or execute purchases with higher discounts to win that monthly bonus. “Successful teams know that conflict is not to be avoided but embraced and explored.” CITATION Fla08 \l 1033 (Flanagan, 2008). Before attempting to resolve a conflict, it is however important to investigate the cause of the conflict. In most situations poor communication is cause of the conflict.
Team...